Trump Resurrects Put-Down Nicknames With 'Fake Tears' Schumer

Trump Resurrects Put-Down Nicknames With 'Fake Tears' Schumer

Senate Minority Leader-elect Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 18, 2016.Alex Brandon / AP, file

Breaking News Emails

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

Donald Trump's tendency to use derogatory nicknames to put down his political adversaries has not subsided since his election as president, as evidenced by latest "Fake Tears" attack on Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

In an early morning tweet mocking Monday night's protest led by Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Supreme Court against his controversial travel ban placed on seven Muslim-majority countries, President Trump singled out House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Schumer, calling him "Fake Tears."

That "nickname" was a reference to a press conference Schumer held on Sunday in reaction to the fallout from the immigration directive, which critics consider a "Muslim ban" by another name. An emotional Schumer said at the time, "This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American," and while fighting back tears he added, "It was implemented in a way that created chaos and confusion across the country."

Hundreds of legal U.S. residents have been detained, in some cases for several hours, as a result of the Trump order, as officials tried to grabbed with how to enforce it and its meaning.

Breaking News Emails

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

Curiously, Trump has weighed in on the authenticity of other politicians' displays of emotion in public in the past. For instance, when former President Barack Obama wept over inaction on gun control during a press conference in January of last year, his eventual successor conceded, "I actually think he was sincere," in a Fox News phone interview.

Although some have criticized this method of political attack as beneath the presidency in the past, it clearly has proven to be an effective tool for Trump — at least among his supporters — some of whom have seized onto the "Fake Tears" moniker and have been using it as a hashtag for social media posts critical of the Democratic leader:

As for Schumer, he has not directly responded to Trump's personal insults, but he has taken a more hardline approach in opposition to his administration.

After initially voicing his support for a handful of Trump's Cabinet nominees, the New York senator said he would oppose most of the remaining picks in a Facebook post earlier this week.

He also cheered on the defiance of ousted acting attorney general Sally Yates (who he has called a "person of great integrity") and said that the travel ban and its roll out have been "a poor reflection on President Trump and his entire administration."

Breaking News Emails

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.